Legislation required: Child marriages deemed more dangerous than terrorism

Lawmakers, experts highlight health and economic costs of early marriages

ISLAMABAD: While the government has been fixated on differentiating between terrorists and ‘jet-black’ terrorists, speakers at a seminar in the capital have deemed the issue of early marriages a far bigger threat to the future of the country.

The seminar on ‘Early Marriages’ on Wednesday featured experts as well as policymakers and legislators.

Dr Najma Afzal Khan, a Punjab assembly member from the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), stated that infant mortality amongst girls who married before 20-years-of-age was 116 per 1,000 births. This, however, falls drastically to 75 per 1,000 births in women who get married in their twenties.



She further shared that younger women have far more restricted access to health services.

Bedari Executive Director Anbreen Ajaib shared how early marriages results in higher school dropout rate for girls and poor transition rates from primary to secondary schools, translating to around 22 per cent girls participating in the workforce as adults — hence creating an overall economic cost.

She claimed that early marriages discouraged contribution of women earning and also in the economic development of the country.

Religious scholar Maulana Sharif Hazarvi expounded upon the need for the capacity of a girl and a boy to manage their household along with attaining physical maturity. He further stated that keeping in view the situation in Pakistan, the state can legislate on the age of marriage.



Another Punjab PML-N lawmaker, Rahila Khadim Hussain, talked of the legislative proposal they had tabled in the Punjab Assembly to increase the minimum age of marriage for girls. She said the bill was currently with the provincial Law Minister for review.  However, she said that rulings from the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) were a strong impediment to implementing their amendment.

Rights activist Qamar Nasim said that the Child Marriage Restraint Act (Amendment) was blocked in the provincial assembly since it was considered un-Islamic by other religio-political parties in the assembly.

Sindh MPA Rubina Qaimkhani said that the story was similar for the child marriage legislation in Sindh but they had managed to raise the minimum age for girls to be married from 16 to 18 years.

She highlighted the need for a comprehensive and holistic legislation on different issues pertaining to child rights.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 26^th, 2018.